The World Ends with a Whimper, Not a Bang
by Puzzled Pieces
Summary: Three words: ZOMBIE POKEMON APOCALYPSE! Will be rated M in the future; contains slash, hetero, and all that good stuff. Indefinite hiatus
1. prologue: WEEK 7

"M-my name is Dawn. I'm the last of the survivors in Jubilife. Please, I beg of you, if there's a safe haven out there … Please respond." Third person, no worries. Game universe. What's the recipe for disaster? Pokemon + zombies!

**AUTHOR'S NOTE THAT EVERYBODY PROBABLY SKIPS**

Hello, I'm Puzzled Pieces!

This is my second fic on this account. I've gotten better at writing, hopefully c:

If it seems like I've stolen the idea from someone, I haven't. It's a pretty generic idea. I apologize for any unintentionally-caused anger.

If you don't have the stomach for gore, violence, sexual assault, and basically everything the "M" rating entails, don't read this.

Thank you.

Enjoy!

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"_M-my name is Dawn. I'm the last of the survivors in Jubilife. Please, I beg of you, if there's a safe haven out there … Please respond."_

Dawn took a deep, shuddering breath as she disconnected from Jubilife TV's transmitter, removing the heavy headset from her ears. A silent prayer was sent to Arceus for her mother's strict coaching on utilizing electronics correctly; who knew that operating a radio tower would be similar to the Infared option on the Xtransceiver? Then again, thinking about her mother – or anyone she knew, really – twisted a red-hot spade of agony deep into her guts, so the young Trainer quickly changed the topic in her head.

_Survival_. Right.

As she stumbled out of the recording studio, Dawn was attacked by a bout of light-headedness and was forced to grab onto a nearby table for assistance. A concerned Pachirisu, which had watched her transmit the message to open radio stations from behind the glass, quickly hopped to Dawn's ankles and licked the young girl's exposed leg.

"I'm fine, Pachirisu," Dawn assured the electric rodent, a faint smile gracing her lips. The blood rush resulting from her glance down at Pachirisu coaxed a contradictory groan from her throat. "I'm … I'm fine."

Unconvinced by its Trainer's weak attempts at reassurance, Pachirisu leapt onto the table upon which Dawn was leaning and hopped onto the girl's shoulders, playfully tugging at Dawn's scarf. The Pokemon's antics elicited a small giggle from the Trainer, who finally burst out into laughter and managed to collect herself. "Aw, okay, okay, Pachirisu! I'm fine. Really!"

_Survival. Survival. Don't do this for yourself, Dawn, because you'll give up too easily. _

_Do it for your Pokemon._

_Do it for the ones who still persist._

At last persuaded of its Trainer's well-being, Pachirisu jumped gracefully off of Dawn's shoulders and landed on the table again, tugging impatiently at one of the young girl's fingers. When it got Dawn's attention, it indicated pointedly at its empty mouth.

"Food. Right," muttered Dawn, turning away to forage around in a cabinet. They'd run out of rations a mere three days ago, and already the pangs of hunger were taking their toll. She wished bitterly that she hadn't so stupidly consumed her Poffins and berries in the first couple of weeks; she had childishly thought that the officials would take care of it all soon. How very _wrong_ she was.

"Pachirisu, there's nothing here," Dawn admitted at last, having ripped open the cabinet for the fifth time within the half-hour. Despair clouded her mind again, and she sank to the floor, cupping her face in her hands. She felt like she was trapped in a foggy pit with the walls closing in on her, and it was the worst feeling she knew that any human being could experience in their lifetime.

Frowning, the Pachirisu hopped off of the table and bounded over to its Trainer. Though it couldn't understand what Dawn was saying, her wobbly tone and frightened sobbing made her emotions clear. Pachirisu gently nuzzled Dawn's elbow, causing the young girl to cry harder and hug the electric squirrel to her chest. Put off by this display of affection, Pachirisu mewled and did the only thing it could to comfort its owner; it licked her face with a small, pink tongue. When Dawn's tears refused to subside, Pachirisu hopefully tugged at her scarf again.

"Oh, Pachirisu," Dawn managed to say, eyes squeezed shut as she hugged the Electric type closer to her chest. "Please, please, _please_ don't leave me, Pachirisu."

"Pachi, pachi," the Pokemon replied consolingly, tiny tongue darting out once more to lap up Dawn's tears. "Pachirisu."

Heaving a stuttering breath, Dawn released the Pokemon and smiled at it through a haze of tears. "Y – you're right, Pachirisu. I'm being silly," the young Trainer declared shakily, rising to her feet once more. "E-Empoleon's still here, just a little injured, and we still have Buneary, too. The Musketeers, the old crew, back together again, h-huh?"

"Pachi," Pachirisu replied earnestly, hopping up and down. For a fragile, vulnerable moment, Dawn believed that everything would be all right – that the world could be fixed and whole again.

_BOOM!_

The explosion wracked Jubilife TV from its foundations to the TV aerial atop the structure, and it sent Dawn, Pachirisu, and a good collection of heavy furniture crashing to the floor. Small scream stifled by her fall, Dawn instinctively brought her bare arms up to protect her head, panic paralyzing her.

She stayed on the floor, frozen, head inches away from a shattered case of records, waiting for another tremor to seize the building. When none came, she scrambled to her feet, Pachirisu following its owner's example. Dawn carefully, quietly made her way over to the bulletproof windows of the TV tower – ever since the Team Galactic event, Jubilife TV had taken precautions – and peered down, thanking the heavens that there were tinted windows.

That explosion hadn't been an arbitrary one. It was one of the land mines that Professor Birch had set up around the tower to prevent one of them from getting too close to Jubilife TV. _"Nothing can get past these mines," the Professor said confidently, winking. "Even an armored Aggron couldn't withstand an explosion at a close proximity. Armored Aggron? Clever alliteration, but isn't that a bit redundant?"_

"Nothing can get past these mines," Dawn repeated shakily. Pachirisu chirped softly and joined her at the window. It was hard to see what was going on down there through all the settling debris and smoke and dust, but it was clearing. Squinting, Dawn went as close to the window as she dared without pressing her cheek up against it and exposing herself.

_Nothing can get past these – _

"What was that?"

_Something was moving. _

Cupping a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming, Dawn scrambled away from the window, tripping over an overturned chair in the process. She landed on the floor with a solid _thump, _her Pachirisu tagging alongside her anxiously.

She had seen something down there.

And it had seen _her_.

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**I update frequently :D**


	2. chapter one: WEEK 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE THAT EVERYBODY PROBABLY SKIPS**

No reviews? No love for me ;A;

Second chapter is out – or, rather, the first chapter, depending on how you look at it.

Please do review. :D

**If you don't have the stomach for gore, violence, sexual assault, and basically everything the "M" rating entails, don't read this.**

Thank you.

Enjoy!

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_WEEK ONE_

_Location: Unknown_

_3:23 PM_

"What do you mean, 'the subject has escaped'? It's impossible!"

A tall, bespectacled, bearded scientist shoved the trembling informant aside, a scowl darkening his features. The long lab cloak fluttered behind him like a flag as he stormed down the hallway, clipboard clutched tightly between white fingers. A train of nervous escorts followed him, babbling nonsense and excuses.

"Silence!" The head scientist roared as they neared the containment center, the doors sliding open with a smooth hiss. His subordinates cowered and scuttled away like Crabby. Muttering to himself, Professor Frank entered the containment center, a giant room with an almost unnecessarily large cage in the middle.

"Son of a Growlithe," breathed Professor Frank. The cage, with bars made of reinforced steel, had been torn open like it had been constructed with flimsy paper mache. The destruction in the containment center was beyond repair; precious, expensive medical and scientific instruments littered the ground, shattered into a thousand pieces. Glass and gore alike decorated the tiles, and a gaping hole in the wall, surrounded by dusty concrete debris, confirmed Professor Frank's worst fears: the subject had escaped into another part of the facility.

Similar to the broken instruments, human bodies were strewn across the floor, most of them immobile. Lingering at the threshold of the containment center, Professor Frank covered his mouth; the putrid smell of decaying flesh was strong. The scene of death and destruction at his feet was almost too much to bear, and he nearly upset his stomach by breathing in the fumes.

The only speck of hope that was given to the Professor was a stirring woman in a corner of the room, a large crater in the wall above her indicating that the subject had tossed her like a ragdoll. Professor Frank picked his way carefully to her side, covering his nose and mouth with a large hand, and bent onto one knee, eyes wild and veined hands shaking. How could this have happened? They had taken every precaution; they had sedated it, used Hypnosis, placed multiple restraints on it and _still_ this had happened.

"Are you okay?" Professor Frank asked the moaning woman in a quivering voice, placing a hand on her back. The woman was on her belly, arms and legs sprawled in every direction, back heaving madly as she drew in air. The numerous cuts and bruises across her exposed legs and hands made it clear that the escaped subject had thrown her against a wall or attacked her. "What happened?"

"Uuughhh…"

"I know you're in a state of shock right now," Professor Frank pressed on, a ghost of his old stern personality coming back, "but I need you to tell me _exactly_ what happened. Who was responsible for this?"

"Uuuuuuuughhhh!"

The woman twisted her body over using her abdominal muscles, showing Professor Frank a grotesque _thing_ that resembled no human or beast the Professor had ever seen before in his life. With a quickness that didn't match her bloated features, the _thing_ launched itself at Professor Frank and sunk its teeth into his neck.

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_WEEK ONE_

_Location: Eterna City_

_8:00 PM_

"Hurry up, Dawn, or the Gym's gonna close!" Barry Rush shouted over his shoulder, green scarf fluttering in the wind as he ran down the streets of Eterna City. Behind him, a shorter blunette struggled to keep up with his pace.

"I'm – trying," gasped Dawn, one hand pressing down her pink-and-black miniskirt so that interested passersby couldn't see more than they needed to, "but – you're – going – too – fast!"

Dawn's golden-haired companion's only response was a snicker and a "That's what she said," and with that, he pulled ahead, rounding a corner and leaving Dawn in the dust. Wheezing and coughing, the young Trainer used a wall to support herself as she desperately tried to draw more air into her lungs.

"Great Arceus," the girl exclaimed in exasperation, turning the corner once she had caught her breath, "Barry, you're too impatient for your own good."

"_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" _The boy's tormented cry caused Dawn to roll her eyes as she approached him, one hand on her hip. Turning to face Dawn with an expression of absolute horror, Barry grabbed the girl's shoulders and shook her back and forth, his already-untamed hair even wilder. "The Eterna Gym is closed. CLOSED! What am I gonna do? I can't go on like this! RRGH!"

"Barry," Dawn interrupted, gently prying the boy's fingers off of her shoulders, "Barry, there's always tomorrow. We can bunk in the Pokemon Center, no big deal."

"No big deal? _No big deal?_" Barry responded incredulously, pointing at the 'Closed' sign that hung over the Gym door. "Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this? How long I've _longed _for the opportunity to challenge Gardenia, how I've prepared for this very moment only to have it _snatched away _by a – a – a fat Snorlax?"s

"Fat Snorl - why, you – !" Dawn proceeded to chase her friend around in a circle in front of the Gym's gates without success; Barry was simply too fast and elusive for her. At last, she stopped, raising her hand and using the other to support herself on her knees. "I give up, fine." Clearing her throat, Dawn straightened up again, craning her neck upwards to peer forlornly at the rising moon. "Sorry, Barry. I really am. But I really wanted to see what the street vendor was selling…"

"He was a quack through and through," Barry stated confidently, a little _hmph!_ snorted through his nose. "And the guy was insane! He kept blabbering on and on about an apocalypse or something … as if," he continued, leaning against the Gym doors with a roll of his eyes. "I mean, nowadays, people're just trying to cash in on the zombie craze, what with all the movies."

Shuddering, Dawn rubbed her bare arms, casting nervous eyes around at the lengthening shadows. It was definitely night, now, and the moon was high in the sky, pale light illuminating everything in an ethereal glow. Even Barry's soft, non-serious features looked vaguely eerie under the influence of moonlight, but there was something unnaturally attractive about the strangeness of the glow. Trying to shake off these thoughts, Dawn spoke, backing away from the Eterna City Gym gates.

"Ehh, horror films aren't for me," Dawn admitted with a shiver. "…I like romantic comedies better," she added, going glassy-eyed at remembering 'The Xtransceiver,' a romantic drama about two Trainer lovers from different social classes (she was the daughter of the Devon Corp's President, he was a nobody from Pallet Town) battling with Alzheimer's.

Barry snorted and shook his head, following Dawn away from the Gym. As they continued down the path, he scolded her on her choice of movie genre. "Maaann, you only like boring chick flicks."

"_Excuse_ me for being a girl!"

"You're excu –"

"What was that?" Dawn interrupted abruptly, stopping. Barry continued walking for a couple of steps before noticing his friend's absence. Turning around with a look of confusion, the blonde cocked his head to the side, waiting for an explanation.

"Hurry up, Dawn, or the Pokecenter's registration's going to close and we're gonna have to sleep on a park bench or something," he chided with a frown, cocking his head in the general direction of Eterna City's Pokemon Center. When Dawn refused to follow him, still frozen in the same position, Barry impatiently grabbed her wrist and attempted to drag her along. "Come _on_, Dawn, now's not the time for –"

"_Shh!_" The blunette jerked her hand away from Barry, rubbing her wrist as she kept her eyes fixed on the gravel path, listening intently. "Just be quiet for a second!"

There was silence as Barry stood there awkwardly, a warm evening breeze ruffling his golden hair. They stood in quiet for an eternity, Dawn rigid as a wooden board, Barry relaxed and confused and concerned for his friend.

"Did you hear that?" Dawn looked up at last, frightening Barry with her expression. "There's – Barry, somebody's _screaming_."

"Dawn, you're freaking me out," Barry said with a tremulous laugh, unused to the blunette's odd actions. "Look, I'm sorry for dragging you to see 'Night of the Living Lampert,' I know it really scared –"

"Just listen!"

And Barry listened at last.

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